Complex of patio houses

ABSTRACT

A complex of patio houses each having two mutually parallel wings and an interconnecting part perpendicular to said wings, and having an H- or h-shaped outer circumference. The houses of the complex are arranged in such a way, that the wings of any two adjacent houses always lie on one line whereas the interconnecting parts of these houses lie on opposite sides of this line. In this manner each house has at least one patio which is partially bounded by the wings of adjacent houses.

United States Patent 1 Stoop COMPLEX OF PATIO HOUSES ['76] Inventor:Adriaan Stoop, Sarenburgerweg 1A,

Bloemendaal, Netherlands [22] Filed: Aug. 25, 1971 [21] Appl. No.:174,648

[52] U.S. Cl ..52/169, 52/79 [51] Int.Cl...' ..E04h l/02, E041) 1/348['58] Field of Search ..52/79, 169, 234; D13/l R [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 2,363,259 11/1944 Penton ..52/79 3,254,458 6/1966Van der Lely... ....52/l69 X 3,601,521 8/1971 Morton ..l ..52/79D216,252 12/1961 Goodrich ..52/79 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS809,103 7/1951 Germany ..52/234 1March 13, 1973 6,610,841 2/1967Netherlands ..52/79 OTHER PUBLICATIONS The Patio House, Urban LandInstitute, 1200 18th St., NW. Washington, D.C., March 1963, 40 pp.

Primary Examiner-Alfred C. Perham Attorney-Eric H. Waters et a1.

[57] ABSTRACT A complex of patio houses each having two mutuallyparallel wings and an interconnecting part perpendicular to said wings,and having an l-I- or h-shaped outer circumference. The houses of thecomplex are arranged in such a way, that the wings of any two adjacenthouses always lie on one line whereas the interconnecting parts of thesehouses lie on opposite sides of this line. In this manner each house hasat least one patio which is partially bounded by the wings of ad- Ijacent houses.

9 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMRI 3l975 SHEET 2 0F 5 PATENTEDHARI3191s ,7 0,023

SHEET 1 [1F 5 COMPLEX or PATIO nousas BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention relates to a complex of patio houses.

Complexes of patio houses each having an L-, T- or U-shaped outercircumference are well known in the art. The houses of such a complexare arranged in such way that each of the houses has a patio bounded bythe closed outer walls of adjacent houses and by garden .walls, pergolasor bushes. In this manner the patio forms an enclosed open living roomwhich is shielded from the wind and affords a substantial privacy.Because such a patio is protected from the wind it can be used as anadditional living room from early spring until late fall. It has beenfound that the microclimate is changed in the patio. Within a patio ofwhich the length and the width equal the height of the surroundingbuildings, the nightly radiation is only 45 percent of the radiation inthe open country, so that the patio may also be used on many summernights. The microclimate may further be influenced by means of plants,fountains and sun shields.

As was mentioned before, houses having an L-, T- or U-shaped outercircumference are well known. The L- shape is the most economic shapeand therefore practiced most often. In an L-shaped house, it is justpossible to provide a separation between a living wing and a sleepingwing, so that the entrance can be located between these wings on thecorner of the house. In this way, the distances to be covered within thehouse can be kept at a minimum.

The known patio houses, however, have the disadvantage that they canonly be built in rows of one house deep, so that only by off-setting thehouses with regard to each other a lively effect can be obtained. Doingthis, however, increases the building costs.

T-, and U-shaped patio houses have no more possibilities to offer thanthe described L-shaped houses and also have the disadvantage that thepatio has to be left open at the back, so that in fact, it only amountsto a back garden. Such a back garden, however, cannot be regarded as apatio any more and most of the advantages of the real patio, viz.privacy and protection against the weather, are lost again. The originalpatio house, of course, is a house that fully surrounds the patio orinner court. This means that, in order to obtain a roomy patio, a verylarge house has to be built.

Another disadvantage of the known complexes of SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe object of the present invention is to provide a complex of patiohouses which has substantial advantages over the known complexes asdescribed in the foregoing.

According to the invention, this object is realized by the fact thateach of the houses of the complex comprises two mutually parallel wingsand an interconnecting part perpendicular to these wings. One of thesewings projects on both sides from the interconnecting part whereas theother wing projects at least on one side from the interconnecting part.The houses of the complex according to the invention are arranged insuch way that at least one wing of each of the houses is substantiallyaligned with at least one wing of another house, and that theinterconnecting parts belonging to each pair of adjacent wings areopposedly directed. In this manner each of the houses of the complex hasat least one patio which is accessible from said house and is surroundedby one facade of the interconnecting part and the inner facades of thewings of said house, and by at least a part of the outer facades of thewings of adjacent houses.

Thus, a complex of patio houses is provided in which each house has atleast one, and more often even two patios which are both larger than thepatio of the known L-, T- or U-shaped houses of the same size, becauseaccording to the invention the size of each patio is partiallydetermined by the adjacent houses.

The complex according to the invention has the further advantage thatlong continuous foundations and roof constructions can be used so thatsystematic and economic building methods may be applied.

Because the patio houses may be linked axially as well as transversely,closely built-up sites may be obtained with only such openings as arenecessary to make each house accessible from the road. These openingsform fore-courts onto which several houses open and which can be given acertain amount of privacy by means of common car ports. In this way,these openings form a meeting place for the residents of the complex, aswell as a safe playground for the children.

In a first embodiment of the invention, both wings of each of the housesof the complex project on both sides from the interconnecting part, andthe projecting parts of the wings are of equal length, so that the outercircumference of the house is H-shaped. In this-manner, a complex ofpatio houses is obtained having a regular pattern.

In another embodiment of the invention, only one of the wings of each ofthe houses projects on both sides from the interconnecting part, whereasthe other wing only projects from one side of the interconnecting part,so that each of the houses has an h-shaped outer circumference. In thismanner, a more versatile linking pattern may be obtained, while at thesame time the complex may be more readily adapted to the alreadyexisting roads.

The I-I- or h-shaped outer circumference of the houses, allowing for alarge number of different ways of linking the houses without increasingthe costs of the foundations, gives the complex according to theinvention a very lively appearance. The compact pattern of the complexleads to a consumption of ground space which is at the most 10 percentmore than with the traditional one-family houses built in rows. Becausemany otherwise necessary roads may be omitted in the complex accordingto the invention, less ground space is needed. Therefore, the groundcosts ofa complex according to the invention will be about the same asthe ground costs of a traditional row of one-family houses, whereas thebuilding costs will be much lower than for a row of traditional houseshaving the same living space, gardenand living comfort. With the knownL-, T- or U-shaped patio houses, the arrangements and floor plans may beadapted to the needs and wishes of the inhabitants only to a slightdegree. It is extremely difficult to change the arrangement of suchhouses later on, e.g., when more rooms are needed or for other reasons,because this involves the breaking away of supporting walls, wherebyvery expensive constructive measures are rendered necessary.

Because of the hand I-I-shaped plans, the wings of the houses may bekept relatively narrow, so that only the blind outer walls and the shortperpendicular walls of the wings have to be supporting walls. On eachcorner of the interconnecting parts of the houses, a supporting columnis erected.

As the inner walls of the wings, the walls of the interconnecting part,and the internal walls of the houses are not supporting, these walls mayeasily be changed or removed. Thus, the patio houses according to theinvention may easily be adapted to the needs and wishes of theinhabitants, not only during the erection of the houses but also at amuch later date.

Because of the small depth of the projecting parts of the wings, allrooms receive sufficient light through the windows in the inner facadesof the wings and the facades of the interconnecting part.

The patio houses according to the invention are extremely suitable forvarious methods of pre-fabrication, especially for the so-called trailerbuilding method. In trailer building, the houses are fully finished inthe factory and transported in segments over the road to the buildingsite where these segments are placed on the foundations, which have beenconstructed in advance, by means of a crane, after which the segmentsonly have to be interconnected. The H- and h-shaped patio houses mayeasily be divided into three segments, viz. the two wings and theinterconnecting part, each having a minimal width and only minimalinterface areas to be connected with the other segments of the samehouse.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a complexof I-I-type patio houses according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 shows a ground plan of an H-type patio house,

FIG. 3 shows a plan view of a complex of h-type patio houses accordingto the invention,

FIGS. 4-7 show ground plans of the different patio houses of the complexaccording to FIG. 3, and

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of a complex of hshaped houses accordingto the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Each of the houses of thecomplex shown in FIG. 1 has an H-shaped outer circumference andcomprises two wings I and an interconnecting part 2. Only the largeouter walls 3 of the wings 1 and the short perpendicular walls of thewings are blind supporting walls. On each corner of the interconnectingpart 2, a supporting column 4 is placed on which continuous beams aresupported parallel to the outer walls of the wings. Also supported onthe columns 4 are a pair of beams interconnecting the wings of which thelength equals the length LII of the interconnecting part. These beamsare supported in the middle by an intermediate supporting column 5, ascan be seen in FIG. 2. As the inner walls 6 of the wings I, the walls 7of the interconnecting part 2 and the internal walls of the house do nothave to support the roof, these walls may be built according to theselected arrangement of the house and may be provided with largewindows.

In the interconnecting part 2 of each house of the complex, a corridor 8is planned adjacent to one of the outer walls 7 of the interconnectingpart 2. From this corridor 8, any part of the house may be reached.

The various living functions may be separated from each other in theprojecting parts 1' of the wings on opposite sides of the corridor 8.These wing parts 1' may be relatively narrow because they do not have tocontain any corridors or the like. As the width of the wings 1 is nomore than 13 ft, supporting internal walls are not necessary.

In each pair of adjacent houses, one of the wings I of each house isaligned with a wing l of the other house, whereas the interconnectingparts 2 extend in opposite directions.

Some of the houses have both wings I connected to and aligned with wingsof different adjacent houses. In this manner, each house has one or eventwo patios 9 which are accessible from the house and are bounded by theinterconnecting part 2 and both wing parts 1' of the house and by partsof the wings 1 of adjacent houses. Adjacent patios may be separated bymeans of a wall 10 or of high bushes.

The houses may be divided into three basic types, viz. one having theentrance in the outer wall 3 of the left wing l aligned with theinterconnecting part, one having the entrance in the outer wall 3 of theright wing 1, and one having the entrance in one of the walls 7 of theinterconnecting part 2. These three possibilities have been indicated inFIG. 2 by means of arrows. The houses of the first type have thecorridor 8 on the left side of the interconnecting part 2, whereas thehouses of the second type have the corridor 8 on the right side, as isindicated by broken lines in FIG. 2. In this manner, the living rooms ofthe houses all have the same orientation with respect to the sun.

.The houses of the complex according to FIG. 3 are hshaped. Each househas two mutually parallel wings and an interconnecting part 20perpendicular to said wings. One of the wings 17 projects on both sidesfrom the interconnecting part 20, whereas the other wing 18 or 19projects on only one side from the interconnecting part. The houses ofthe complex are arranged in such manner that the wings of adjacenthouses are always aligned with each other, whereas the interconnectingparts 20 are alternately directed in opposite directions.

The houses of the complex belong to two different basic types. The onlydifference between the houses 13 and 14 of the first type of which theplans are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 respectively, and the houses 15 and 16of the other type, of which the plans are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7respectively, is that the length of the wing 18 projecting on only oneside from the interconnecting part 20 of the houses 13 and 14 is shorterthan the other wing 17, whereas in the houses 15 and 16 both wings 17and 19 are equal in length.

As the h-houses are not symmetrical with respect to the interconnectingpart 20, the houses of both types can have two different plans whichform each others mirror image. The ground plan of a house 14 as shown inFIG. 5 is the mirror image of the ground plan of a house 13 as shown inFIG. 4. In like manner, the plans of the houses 15 and 16 as shown inFIGS. 6 and 7 respectively form each others mirror image.

These four different plans offer a practically unlimited number oflinking possibilities, so that the linking pattern of the complex islively and varied. At the same time, the linking pattern may easily beadapted to the already existing roads, as can be seen from FIG. 3.

Each of the houses of the complex has at least one and in most caseseven two patios 9 which are accessible from said house and are enclosedby the interconnecting parts and the wings of said house, by the blindfacades of the wings of adjacent houses and by a wall or hedge 10.

In like manner as in the l-I-type houses, only the long outer walls 21of the wings and the short perpendicular walls 22 of the wings aresupporting walls, whereas the inner walls of the wings and the walls ofthe interconnecting parts do not have to support the roofs, so thatthese walls may be provided with large windows, if desired.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 3, long continuous foundation strips maybe used with the complex of patio houses according to the presentinvention. Also long continuous roof surfaces may be used. As the patiohouses may be linked together axially as well as laterally, a closebuilding pattern may be obtained.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 3, openings 11 are provided in thepattern, so that each house may be reached from the road. These openings11 form forecourts onto which several houses open. These forecourts maybe closed off from the road by means of a car port 12, as can be seenfrom FIG. 1.

As mentioned before, the patio houses according to the invention areparticularly suitable for trailer building methods, because both wingsas well as the interconnecting parts may be easily transported over theroad as separate fully finished segments to be interconnected on thebuilding site.

In some countries, however, where the allowable width of segments to betransported over the road is smaller than the width of the wings,problems may arise. These problems may be solved by means of the htypepatio houses according to FIG. 8. In these houses, only the portions 23of the short perpendicular walls 22 of the wings are carried out assupporting walls. Thus, the supporting part of each wing may beseparated from the remaining part of the wing along the broken line 24,so that it may be transported over the road as a narrower independentsegment. In this case, it is of course practical to locate all fixedelements of the houses, such as the kitchen, the toilet, the bathroom,the entrance hall, etc., within these supporting segments.

The invention is, of course, not limited to the embodiments representedin the drawings by way of example. The houses according to the inventionmay be changed in different ways within the scope of the invention. Forinstance, the width of the interconnecting part, the ratio between thelength of the projecting parts of the wings, or the distance between thewings may be changed.

I claim:

1. A complex of patio houses, each comprising two mutually parallelwings and an interconnecting part perpendicular to the said wings,wherein a first one of the said wings projects on both sides from saidinterconnecting part and a second of said wings projects at least on oneside from said interconnecting part, said wings and interconnecting partincluding respective walls, the said houses being arranged in suchmanner that one wing of each house is substantially aligned with andconnected to one wing of at least one other house and that theinterconnecting parts of each pair of adjacent houses lie on oppositesides of the said aligned wings, so that each house has at least onepatio accessible from said house and bounded by a wall of theinterconnecting part of said house, an adjoining wall of each of thewings of said house and a portion of a wall of a wing of at least oneadjacent house.

2. A complex of patio houses as claimed in claim 1 wherein the secondwing of each house also projects on both sides from the interconnectingpart and the projecting parts of each wing are equal in length so thatthe house has an I-I-shaped circumference.

3. A complex of patio houses as claimed in claim 1 wherein the secondwing of each house projects on only one side from the interconnectingpart so that the house has a h-shaped circumference.

4. A complex of patio houses as claimed in claim 3 wherein theprojecting part of the second wing of at least some of the houses isshorter than the projecting part of the first wing on the same side ofthe interconnecting part.

5. A complex of patio houses as claimed in claim 3 wherein the secondwing of at least some of the houses is shorter than the first wing andwherein the wing parts projecting from the same side of theinterconnecting part are of equal length and the projecting part of thefirst wing on the other side of said interconnecting part is shorterthan the said first mentioned projecting parts.

6. A complex of patio houses as claimed in claim 1 wherein only the longouter wall and at least a substantial adjoining part of the short endwall of each wing of each house are supporting walls and wherein eachhouse further comprises a supporting column at each corner of theinterconnecting part.

7. A complex of patio houses as claimed in claim 6 wherein the wings ofadjacent houses are interconnected in such manner that the supportingparts of the end walls of the said wing are aligned.

8. A complex of patio houses as claimed in claim 7 wherein the end wallof each wing of each house has a nonsupporting part and wherein any twoadjacent houses are offset with respect to each other at a distanceequal to the width of said non-supporting part.

9. A complex of patio houses as claimed in claim 1 wherein the alignedwings of the houses are supported on mutually parallel continuousfoundation strips.

1. A complex of patio houses, each comprising two mutually parallelwings and an interconnecting part perpendicular to the said wings,wherein a first one of the said wings projects on both sides from saidinterconnecting part and a second of said wings projects at least on oneside from said interconnecting part, said wings and interconnecting partincluding respective walls, the said houses being arranged in suchmanner that one wing of each house is substantially aligned with andconnected to one wing of at least one other house and that theinterconnecting parts of each pair of adjacent houses lie on oppositesides of the said aligned wings, so that each house has at least onepatio accessible from said house and bounded by a wall of theinterconnecting part of said house, an adjoining wall of each of thewings of said house and a portion of a wall of a wing of at least oneadjacent house.
 1. A complex of patio houses, each comprising twomutually parallel wings and an interconnecting part perpendicular to thesaid wings, wherein a first one of the said wings projects on both sidesfrom said interconnecting part and a second of said wings projects atleast on one side from said interconnecting part, said wings andinterconnecting part including respective walls, the said houses beingarranged in such manner that one wing of each house is substantiallyaligned with and connected to one wing of at least one other house andthat the interconnecting parts of each pair of adjacent houses lie onopposite sides of the said aligned wings, so that each house has atleast one patio accessible from said house and bounded by a wall of theinterconnecting part of said house, an adjoining wall of each of thewings of said house and a portion of a wall of a wing of at least oneadjacent house.
 2. A complex of patio houses as claimed in claim 1wherein the second wing of each house also projects on both sides fromthe interconnecting part and the projecting parts of each wing are equalin length so that the house has an H-shaped circumference.
 3. A complexof patio houses as claimed in claim 1 wherein the second wing of eachhouse projects on only one side from the interconnecting part so thatthe house has a h-shaped circumference.
 4. A complex of patio houses asclaimed in claim 3 wherein the projecting part of the second wing of atleast some of the houses is shorter than the projecting part of thefirst wing on the same side of the interconnecting part.
 5. A complex ofpatio houses as claimed in claim 3 wherein the second wing of at leastsome of the houses is shorter than the first wing and wherein the wingparts projecting from the same side of the interconnecting part are ofequal length and the projecting part of the first wing on the other sideof said interconnecting part is shorter than the said first mentionedprojecting parts.
 6. A complex of patio houses as claimed in claim 1wherein only the long outer wall and at least a substantial adjoiningpart of the short end wall of each wing of each house are supportingwalls and wherein each house further comprises a supporting column ateach corner of the interconnecting part.
 7. A complex of patio houses asclaimed in claim 6 wherein the wings of adjacEnt houses areinterconnected in such manner that the supporting parts of the end wallsof the said wing are aligned.
 8. A complex of patio houses as claimed inclaim 7 wherein the end wall of each wing of each house has anon-supporting part and wherein any two adjacent houses are offset withrespect to each other at a distance equal to the width of saidnon-supporting part.